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INTRODUCTION
The process of communicating externally the environment effects of an organizations economic actions through the corporate annual report is called environmental reporting. This form of reporting encompasses inter alia, disclosures relating to the environmental policies, impacts, processes and audits. It can also include environmental related expenditures, the environmental benefits of products, and details sustainable operations. Environmental reporting can be defined as a catch-all term that describes the various means by which companies disclose information on their environmental activities. It is defined as publicly available, stand-alone reports issued voluntarily by the companies on their environmental activities. It can be considered as a sort of small world where many crucial points in a relationship between a company and its stake holder meet together. Environmental reporting as a recognized subset of corporate reporting is now nearly a decade old. The so called environmental reporting covers the preparation and provision, by management, for the use of different stakeholder groups, on the environmental status and performance of their organization. This information is often provided in a separate environmental report, but it may be also or included within other forms of reporting, such as the Annual/Financial Reports, or the Sustainability Reports (which include the economic, environmental and social issues). Environmental-related information varies from company to company and from country to country, since there is no standard way for presenting and interpreting these issues .Besides the qualitative level of this kind of disclosure, in terms of relevance, reliability, clarity , comparability, timelines and credibility, is not generally very high. Even if the stakeholders use this information in order to orient their choices, companies do not seem to pay a great attention to guidelines specifically related to the disclosure of environmental information in annual financial reports: this is surprising considering the types of decisions which potentially could be undertaken following the companies disclosure on this issue. More and more voluntary and regulatory guidelines are emerging to encourage companies to disclose environmental issues in the Annual Report. Environmental reporting is still in its infancy compared to financial reporting, but with more media and public scrutiny on corporate green policies and credentials, it is essential that companies communicate and are appraised on these matters consistently and clearly. Accounting and reporting for the environment has become

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increasingly relevant to enterprises because how an enterprise's environmental performance affects its financial health is of increasing concern to investors, creditors, governments and the public at large Public disclosure by a firm of its environmental performance information, similar to the publication of its financial performance information. As part of its sustainable development strategy the Government encourages both companies and public bodies to disclose their sustainability and environmental performance via their annual reports and accounts. Environmental reporting is the term commonly used to describe by an entity of environmentally related data verified by an entity of environmentally related data, verified (audited) or not, regarding environmental risks, environmental impacts, policies, strategies, targets, costs, liabilities, or environmental performance, to those who have an interest in such information, as an aid to enabling/ enriching their relationship with the reporting entity via either: The annual report and accounts A separate corporate environmental performance report Some other medium ( e.g. staff newsletter, video, CD-ROM, website).

Environmental Reporting is an extension of environmental accounting and it means incorporation of environmental issues into the corporate annual reports of corporate entities. It denotes voluntary and involuntary disclosures by corporate entities on the impact of its activities on environment. The corporate entities in the certain developed countries are paying closer attention to stakeholder demand for environmental impacts and operational performance which is useful to relevant stakeholders in assessing their relationship with the reporting entity. Environmental reporting is treated as one of the basic constituents of Corporate social responsibility. It is a process of identification measurement and communicating of information on the environmental responsibility of an entity to permit economic decision- making by the users of information Environmental reporting is a course that investigating how environment effect traditional accounting sub- disciplines.

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ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING BY CORPORATE ENTERPRISES
Environmental Reporting means including environmental issues in to the annual reports by corporate enterprises. It denotes voluntary and involuntary disclosure by corporate enterprises and its impact on the environment. It includes the preparation and provision of information, by management, for the use of multiple stakeholder groups on the environmental status and performance of their company. The corporate enterprises have started the practice of making environmental reporting in their annual report. The advantages of such disclosure are : (1) Reporting on environmental performance strengthens the enterprises commitment to attain a higher level of environmental performance. (2) Environmental disclosures increase environmental transparency of a company. (3) Reporting on environmental performance show cases its environmental accountability (4) Reporting of environmental performance assists in improving the public relation of the company (5) Environmental disclosures show companys relationship with society and the environmental stakeholders (6) The companies can increase their image and thus, can be regarded as enlightened companies

CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT DISCLOSURES


Corporate annual reports are the main vehicle that communicates the operating performance and other relevant information of a company to its various interested parties. It is also the major source that provides information on the effectiveness of the accomplishments of managers in meeting their fiduciary duties and carrying out their stewardship functions. Accordingly corporate annual reports are expected to provide all necessary information required by their

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various users. However, providing information to satisfy all user needs is not an easy task given the diversity of users and their information needs. Therefore, the purpose of improving environment disclosure and accounting for disclosures and thereby satisfy various users. Environmental reporting traditionally had been a voluntary method of communicating environmental performance to its stakeholders. It is emerging as an instrument, which can help in the protection and development of natural and environmental resources. But the status of environmental disclosure is very poor and there is no uniformity in reporting practices. This may be, due to its being voluntary in nature and the non- availability of disclosure guidelines regarding the contents of environmental disclosure and its structure. Corporate all over the world have play an important role in resolving the environmental challenges facing the world because of the resources they command and the extent to which they may be responsible for environmental degradation. Current disclosure practices followed by most of the companies do not fully reflect the environmental impact of corporate do not fully reflect the environmental impact of corporate operation. However, the companies all over the world are under increasing pressure from the green lobby and regulatory bodies to disclose more environmental information. There is a need and a challenge for the companies to become greener. Disclosure of information in the corporate annual reports regarding the impact of organizations activities on natural and environmental resources has emerged as an emerging area of study. Disclosure of environmental information is being viewed as an emerging area of study. Disclosure of environmental information is being viewed as an instrument, which can help in the protection and development of environmental resources. But in the absence of comprehensive environmental disclosure guidelines, efforts are futile. Though guidelines have been issued by different types of organizations in different parts of the world but no consensus has yet been reached regarding the content and structure of corporate environmental reporting. Whatever little environmental information is being provided by the corporate sector in their annual reports on voluntary basis is inadequate, lacks meaningful interpretation is of very general nature, detail is very less.

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NEED OF THE STUDY
During the last few centuries, the unplanned growth of various industrial and developmental projects has severely affected the quality of life of masses. Mass Deforestation, haphazard industrial development, excessive emissions from the industrial units and lack of proper environment management have been the key features of development in various countries. As a result, serious concerns have emerged at the global level as to the environmental imbalances emerging in the different regions. Environmental degradation expressed as erosion in natural resources and reduced capacity of the eco- system in the wake of industrialization the world over is a significant indicator of the shocks that industrialization imposes of people. Technological progress associated with industrialization is itself a major cause of environmental problem, but technological progress and innovation can also be part of the solution. The problem of environmental protection is becoming more and more serious and the need for considering the value of series of environmental resources also goes on increasing day- by- day. So the corporate need to remember the effects of their investment decisions on the environment and costs that the environment and future generation pays for mitigating the ill-effects. The costs that they have incurred in controlling environmental devastating activities should be recognized and should be evaluated time to time. For this the corporate manager need to introduce an accounting system which provides information to all the interested parties in environment management.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY


The objectives of the study were as follows:1. To assess the environmental reporting factors in different manufacturing sectors.

2. To analyse the expanses on environmental reporting factors.

3.To compare environmental reporting practices of selected companies.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Scope: The Scope of the study is limited to manufacturing companies listed on NSE in India.
Top companies are list out according to their sector. Hence the companies included:-

Sector
Iron & steel companies Cement companies Oil refineries

Private Company
Jindal Steel Works ACC Cement Reliance Oil Refineries

Public Company
Steel Authority of India of
Gas

Limited Cement India


Oil and

Corporation
Natural

Corporation

DATA SOURCE
In order to meet the objective of the study, the data has been collected from secondary sources mainly from financial report of selected companies which were available on NSEs website.

TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS DATA


The various statistical tools has also be used to analyze the data such as averages and percentage.

DURATION OF THE STUDY


For the purpose of analysis of data, a period of 2 year financial year (2010-2011, 2011-2012) has been taken.

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